The Agile Perspective describes the distinct aspects of business analysis when it is practiced in the agile environments context.
An Agile environment is an adaptable environment which incorporates the principles of constant change.
Business analysts working on agile initiatives need to continuously reevaluate, adapt, and adjust their efforts and methods.
The business analysts would need to analyse and provide work products at the last minute to allow the flexibility for change and the analysis work cannot be conducted in advance but at that point in time to be effectively used by the agile team.
This ensures that the information is available to the agile team at the right amount of detail and at the right time.
Business analysts should help the agile teams answer the following questions:
- What is the need that we are trying to fulfill ?
- Would that need deliver value to the organization ?
- Should we deliver on a product which will fulfill that need?
- What do we need to do to deliver that product ?
Business analysis work is continually performed throughout an agile initiative and it depends on interpersonal skills such as communication, facilitation, coaching, and negotiation.
Business analysts are vital members of an agile team and often support the planning, analyzing, testing, and demonstrating activities. In an agile team, business analysis may also act as be a product owner or scrum master.
Change Scope
Business analysts working on agile initiatives liaise with the business sponsor on a strategic level and help with describing how the suggested product or feature would align with the organization’s objectives.
They work with various stakeholders and the change team to break the product vision down into a prioritized list of work items that have to be completed.
The prioritized items focuses on the required functionalities of the final product.
Agile teams deliver small, progressive changes and deliver prioritized work items for only one iteration at a time. (An iteration is an agreed period of work time usually 2 weeks). This allows the agile team to handle any changes for the upcoming iteration with the least impact to the initiative.
Requirements are developed through continuous investigation and analysis of the business needs. During agile initiatives, the scope is constantly developing and these changes are managed by the backlog list which is regularly reviewed and re-prioritized.
This process lends to the clarification and redesign of scope in order to meet the changing business need. If a major change crops up that considerably affects the general value and goals for the project, then the project can be withdrawn and reevaluated.
1. Breadth of Change: Agile approaches are used to respond to a range of needs in an enterprise. The most common use of agile practices is in software development projects.
Though , many organizations also use agile principles for non-software related change such as process engineering and business improvement.
Initiatives using agile approaches can be used within a single department or across multiple teams, departments, and divisions of an organization.
For organizations that are new to agile practices, focusing on continuous improvement and changing behaviour helps the organization in adopting the agile mindset.
Which means the cultural adoption of agile principles in an organization that is thinking of implementing an agile methodology.
2 Depth of Change: Initiatives using an agile approach are usually part of a program which can include organizational transformation and change, business process re-engineering, or business process change.
Agile principles and practices are usually used in the following situations:
- When there is a clear commitment to the engagement from the customer and subject matter experts (SMEs).
- When the business need or suggested solution is complicated.
- When the business needs are evolving or unknown and are still emerging.
Agile approaches can also be used for new initiatives that are not been previously developed or for maintaining and improving on an existing solution.
Examples of these include a solution to address regulatory requirements and new products development.
3 Value and Solutions Delivered: The value and solutions delivered in an agile initiative is like any other initiative.
The main difference is that an agile approach focuses on delivering value using adaptable planning that centers on continuous improvement.
The stakeholders get the opportunity to regularly review the product, which allows them to identify any missed requirements early on in the initiative. The solution changes over time with quick and adaptable response to change.
The business analyst plays a major role in building harmony and trust amongst the agile team members and stakeholders to help enable ongoing collective discussions and engagement.
This relationship enables the agile team to deliver value that meets changing stakeholder needs.
4 Delivery Approach: Agile approaches focuses on relationship, clear communications, and continuing delivery of valuable change to stakeholders.
Each agile approach has its own distinct characteristics that allows teams to choose an approach that best suits the initiative at hand.
Sometimes it is necessary to use a combination of approaches to work within the limits of an organization.
5 Major Assumptions: The assumptions in Agile environments include the following :
- Changing requirements are always acceptable, even late in development.
- The business problem can be broken into a set of needs that can be fulfilled using a mix of technology and business process improvements.
- Agile initiatives have fully engaged customers and empowered SMEs who support the agile approach.
- Theoretically, the team membership is unchanging and members are not regularly being moved to other teams.
- There is an inclination for multidisciplinary and centrally located teams which supports more efficient and effective direct conversation.
However, agile approaches can also work well with distributed teams in the following situations:
- If suitable support and communication channels are in place.
- That team members may perform more than one role within the team if necessary, provided that they have suitable skills .
- Team members have a continuous improvement mindset and successfully deliver value.
- Agile teams are authorized to self-organize.